1970 Super Bee - Rare Finds

Like other teenagers in high school, Seth Hatfield wanted a hot set of wheels. He’d heard some of his friends and “older guys” talking about an old Mopar parked outside his hometown of Dove Creek, Colorado.

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Always on the lookout for muscle cars, the 17-year-old managed to “stumble onto some kind of Mopar” behind the shop of the Springmeyer brothers. This must be the car everybody talked about in the small farming community of 800 people (which is known as the pinto bean capital of the world).

Seth could see a Super Bee logo in the faded and cracked black stripe on what appeared to be original paint. Two huge scoops on the hood also pointed to a probable muscle car heritage. He presumed the big-block V-8 under the hood was original, but he didn’t know for sure.

“That was as far as I got into looking at it ’cause the excitement overwhelmed me. I had to go see if it was for sale.”

Although unaware at the time, Seth had been stung by a Bee of the Dodge family. He got no relief because the owners refused to sell. The two brothers, who ran a garage, said they would never sell the car and they planned a restoration.

3/6Seth Hatfield found this Super Bee in a rural area outside Dove Creek, Colorado. When he purchased the car last year, it had been sitting since 1978.

“My heart sank. I gave up but never forgot the car. Every now and then it would cross my mind, but I knew better than to call and ask.”

Then last spring, 17 years after the 17-year-old first spotted the muscle Dodge, Seth decided to call “on a whim” to check on the Super Bee. He wondered if it was even still behind the old shop.

Seth was surprised to learn both brothers had passed away. He managed to reach their mother on the phone. He was encouraged when he learned a sister, named Dawn, now owned the car. And yes, she did want to sell. The car had been sitting since 1978.

Seth was “a little worried” because several guys were already looking at the car. “Before we hung up the phone I said, ‘Please hang onto it for me. I’m definitely sure to buy it.’”

Before pulling the trigger, Seth wanted to make sure of the car’s Super Bee status and its overall condition.

He called his brother, a car guy, and asked him to take a look and “dig up some numbers.” His brother still lived in the area, but Seth was now more than an hour away in Moab, Utah. Time was of the essence.

“He called me back and said it was in pretty fair shape with the usual Mopar rust, but nothing really bad. A few lower quarter patch panels and a trunk pan” were all the car needed.

The old Dodge was definitely a ’70 Super Bee in the coupe body style. This Bee was “bare bones performance,” Seth said—no power steering, no power brakes, no air conditioning. One rare option listed on the fender tag was “M31,” for the door beltline moldings. The N96 Ram Charger fresh-air hood was the main performance option of high repute and, luckily, all there. The original engine was the base 383hp four-barrel, apparently still the original factory issue, backed by a 727 automatic transmission spinning a set of 3.23 gears in an 8¾-inch axle.

5/6The column-shift automatic is another muscle car trait. The in-dash tachometer is stock.

Seth felt like the Super Bee had stung him again. He headed to Dove Creek ASAP to meet his brother and assess the situation. He found the old Bee parked on four tree stumps with tires and “stuff” piled on and around the body.

Inside, the Super Bee resembled a taxicab with a vinyl bench seat, a column-shifted automatic, and an AM radio. The speedometer read to 150 mph, set in a round pod in front of the driver. The adjoining pod housed a tachometer reading to 8,000 rpm and redlining at 5,500 rpm. The odometer read 77,602 when time stopped.

Seth decided to research production numbers further. He was surprised Dodge built a mere 62 Light Gold Metallic (FY4 code) coupes in 1970. Coupes are better suited to drag racing, being more rigid. Super Bee coupes are also quite a bit rarer than hardtops—sting number three.

“I called the sister and worked out what we thought was a fair price,” said Seth. “I got a good deal.”

At home, the 383 fired up after a little TLC. Instead of driving the car as is, Seth is going to restore it. He made up a parts list for the restoration. The toughest part on his list is a set of front grilles, which he says are “nearly impossible to find.”

While some people hate the ’70-style front end, it “grew on me and now I think it looks pretty tough,” said Seth.

Seth is still under the influence of the old Super Bee sting. Once it’s restored, he’ll feel better.